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Study Does Not Link Breast-Feeding With Child’s I.Q.

Breast-feeding has many benefits, but a new study suggests that it has no effect on a child’s IQ from toddlerhood through adolescence.

The idea that breast-feeding might have an effect on cognition is plausible, since long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are important in neurological development, are more plentiful in breast-fed babies.

British researchers studied 11,582 children born between 1994 and 1996. About two-thirds were breast-fed, for an average of four months. They followed them through age 16 and administered nine intelligence tests at regular intervals over the years. The study is in PLOS One.

After controlling for parental education, maternal age, socioeconomic status and other variables, they found that girls who had been breast-fed had a weak but statistically insignificant advantage in early life over those who had not been, but the effect was not apparent in boys. Breast-feeding was not associated with gains in IQ through adolescence for either girls or boys.

The lead author, Sophie von Stumm, a senior lecturer in psychology at Goldsmiths University of London, said that mothers who do not breast-feed are sometimes criticized.

“It’s almost an accusation these days,” she said, “that you’re purposely harming your child. That’s not the case, and it’s not helpful for new mothers. Kids do lots of things that have an influence on IQ. Breast-feeding has no effect that can be distinguished from family background or socioeconomic status.”